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I’ve been thinking about the impetus behind Wonder Woman’s new look, and it’s my guess that the change is film-driven. A lot of people have made an issue of the costume over the years in terms of how it would translate to the big screen. Despite the fact that Lynda Carter pulled it off on TV, there are those that think that the outfit will be a hinderance.

Now, here’s the wild guess part: I’m wondering if there’s any manuvering going on to get Gina Carano to play Wonder Woman. The new continuity that was created by the Olympians has Wonder Woman working in more or less a streetfighter-type role at the outset. That would play to the background of Carano, the MMA fighter whom also appeared as “Crush” on “American Gladiators”. Currently, Carano is filming “Haywire” with Steven Soderbergh; she plays the lead, a female spy on the run after a betrayal. Her co-stars include Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Ewan MacGregor, so it seems that more than a few people think that she can act. (Set pics here; note that “Knockout” was the film’s original title, prior to “Haywire”).

So, we’ve got a modified outfit, a streetfighter style, and a company hot to make films based on their characters. And over here, we have a beautiful woman that’s known for physicality and is making an action picture alongside some big names with a superstar director. Now look at the new hair length on Diana . . .

That’s just my wild guess, but I think they’re setting us up for a Gina Carano Wonder Woman. Your take?

(Apologies right up front for using the term “blogosphere.”)

There’s nothing more “new journalism” or “Web 2.0″ than a blog post about a blog, so here’s one: Dark Horse Comics now has an official company blog, posting official news from the publisher, à la DC’s The Source. The blog actually started a month ago, somewhat quietly, but it looks like they’re now looking to really give it a push. A recently distributed announcement from the publisher says that the blog will “slowly replace” their traditional e-mail press release list.

Highlights thus far on the blog, sporadically updated at this point, include an interview with Patton Oswalt about his recently released Serenity: Float Out one-shot, comments on the upcoming Doctor Solar #1 series and a personal tribute to Usagi Yojimbo by Dark Horse production artist Ryan Hill.

Dark Horse made news here on Newsarama earlier today, in Chris Arrant’s interview with editor Scott Allie on Dark Horse Presents leaving MySpace, and what the future holds for the enduring anthology title.

Nikki Finke of Deadline.com usually only covers comic books to the extent that they affect movie and TV deals (which is kind of a lot these days, and by “these days” I mean “the last decade”), but, like so many, she’s been moved to comment on Wonder Woman’s new look. She does not like it.

“I wish they’d just left her alone, especially since she’s the only comic book character female I’ve ever admired,” Finke wrote. “Of course, it took a bunch of men to ruin her.” Finke then scolded DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson for “allowing this to happen,” and for not hiring a female writer to handle the character’s new direction. (UPDATE: As commenter chris points out, whether or not Finke is aware that incoming Wonder Woman writer J. Michael Straczynski is directly following Gail Simone, a female, is unclear.)

Finke continued to quote official DC press materials, calling it the “dumbass stuff that DC Comics is doing to her,” and stated that she’s starting the “FREE WONDER WOMAN!” campaign.

Her next post was exclusive art displaying the costume from new Wonder Woman series artist Don Kramer, provided by the publisher. Remarks from her readers include: “She clearly went to Pamela Anderson’s plastic surgeon” and “oh god…I can’t get past the boobs,” suggesting that the average Deadline.com commenter hasn’t seen a mainstream superhero comic book in a while (or ever).

Let us know where you stand on WWWW (World War Wonder Woman) in the comments.

Blog@ captain Troy Brownfield here. We’ve got a new additon to the team, and I think you’ll enjoy it quite well. Jess Peacock, the writer behind the most excellent blog The Crawlspace and contributor to Bloody-Disgusting.com, will be joining up to bring you genre-related prose reviews. If you’re curious why we’d add a prose reviewer, then you should be aware that a rising number of horror novelists and others are making the transition to the comics page. Furthermore, an increasing number of genre novels are getting the comic treatment. It’s only fair that we add another layer to this circuit. For his big debut, And now . . . Jess!

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From the high seas of the Carribbean to the weirdness of Wonderland, is Johnny Depp about to take a trip in the TARDIS next?

Tor.com is reporting that there are some rumors afloat that Captain Jack Sparrow himself will be starring as the Doctor in an upcoming film. Be prepared to take this with an entire shaker of salt, as their original sources are pretty shaky (and the original posts apparently have been taken down).

According to Tor, Russel T. Davies (the alleged writer of this project) said that the Doctor would be “on a journey through time and space with a crew of volunteers treating humanity’s illnesses brought on by invading aliens. He cures the bubonic plague and then goes to Africa to fight Ebola.” Yet Tor quickly notes that Davies, in his book The Writer’s Tale, has admitted to lying about story elements in the past.

So with that all in mind, we’ve got ourselves a bonafide rumor on our hands. What say you, Rama readers? We savvy with Johnny as the new Doctor? Or are we responding with a resounding “what?” Sound off!

If you’re looking for something that will simultaneously entertain you and paralyze you as if you were bitten by the Vanir, you need to check out this positively mind-blowing Conan the Musical.

Oh, Topless Robot, you are a scamp for posting this. After the tenth time I watch this, however, other names might pop up.

But what if you’re looking for a little bit more alternative stuff? Then check out Danny Fong‘s awesome and mind-blowing one-man-a-capella rendition of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme!

I think I need to lie down, the hilarity and sheer ingenuity of this has left me shaky.

“Dear Nancy…”: I liked Yow!, Drawn and Quarterly’s Free Comic Book Day offering featuring a grab bag of John Stanley stories form the John Stanley Library line, so much that after reading it I sort of wished it was a monthly comic book. I particularly enjoyed the letters page in the back, complete with the sorts of drawings little kids send in to the Johnny DC books all the time. So I’m glad to see that D&Q still gets fan mail from kids. (Also, how cool is that Nancy lapel pin C. Tyler’s sporting in the photo at the link? I don’t think having read Spider-Man or Conan comics gives Obama all that much nerd cred; maybe when he loses his American flag lapel pin for a Nancy lapel pin we’ll talk).

Jack Kirby drew especially awesome orangutans: Check out this gallery of Jack Kirby-drawn Fantastic Four foes on the Grantbridge Street & Other Misadventures blog. (Via Comics Reporter)

“Some comics that have gone from my ‘Read’ pile to my ‘Read’ pile in the last couple of weeks”: Kumar Sivasubramanian reviews a couple of short stack s of comics here and here. I like review posts like this, where comics new and old are all covered together irrespective of publication date. (Also via Comics Reporter)

I also like it when Todd Klein reviews comics: Klein has a nice, conversational style and diplomatic way of pointing out comics’ possible shortcomings that reading his short posts about the comics he’s read seems a little like bumping into someone at a comic shop and asking them what they thought of this book or that. I always half-expect him to say tthat the lettering sucked though…and he never does.

Hey, me too!: Mike Sterling shares his very short shopping list for the week. While we have the same number of books on our shopping lists, only one of the titles overlaps.

Hey, where is Nicola Scott?!: As I mentioned yesterday, DC’s The Source blog has been devoting much of this week to the discussion of Wonder Woman, and yesterday they posted something from former Secret Six artist Nicola Scott, who drew Wondy for stories written by Gail Simone and Greg Rucka, and has contributed to Wonder Woman #600. This reminded me that Scott still hasn’t returned to Secret Six. And then I checked DC’s solicitations for comics shipping in July, August and September, and there was no Nicola Scott anywhere! What gives?! I can think of like one million DC Comics that could use Nicola Scott’s pencils ASAP. At least two of which are currently being written by Gail Simone! Well, hopefully DC has her hard at work on something big that hasn’t been announced yet, like a Catman/Deadshot yaoi title…

Alice Eve is blonde, pretty and sort of hoity-toity looking, so it’s not hard to see why she’s in negotiations to play Emma Frost in next summer’s X-Men: First Class, as reported yesterday by the Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision blog.

Just last week, we were speculating on whether or not the former White Queen would play a role in the film at all, given that she didn’t appear in the comic books until the X-Men were way beyond their first class —1980′s Uncanny X-Men #129. Yet Emma Frost did have a character cameo in last year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so it makes sense given the established film continuity.

Eve most recently starred as the titular “she” in this spring’s Jay Baruchel comedy vehicle She’s Out of My League. She’s also British, which I always thought Emma Frost was supposed to be when I was a kid. Just a few months ago, she was rumored to be up for the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Also making the rounds: Latino Review says Caleb Landry Jones, “Boy on Bike” in No Country for Old Men, is the “top contender” for the role of Banshee. Jones is 20, putting him more than a decade younger than the 31-year-old James McAvoy (playing Professor X), even though Banshee is one of the only X-Men who, in the comics, is around the same age as Xavier. It happens.

Is Eve up for the task of slipping into Emma’s organic diamond skin? Feel free to tell the world your thoughts in the comments.

Well, this is weird. Vince Colletta, the late, controversial, inker who collaborated with Jack Kirby on a number of books, apparently wrote an angry letter to Marvel editors sometime in 1987, following former editor-in-chief Jim Shooter’s dismissal. 23 years later, it’s the daily featured missive on correspondence compilation site Letters of Note. And Colletta seemed just a mite bit perturbed about how things turned out.

The letter starts: “Marvel Editors…you are the droppings of the creative world. You were destined to float in the cesspool till urine logged and finally sink to the bottom with the rest of the shit but along came Jim Shooter who rolled up his sleeves and rescued you.” It may not seem all that shocking now, given how this type of vitriol is pumped out online quicker than the BP oil leak, but the fact that Colletta actually wrote the letter out by hand (in cursive, even, you can view the original letter here, where it surfaced online three years ago) puts a bizarre, yet somehow quaint, spin on things.

Colletta also apparently had a unique flair for rather graphic descriptions: “Ripping away his flesh from his body and laughing and pounding your chest like conquering ghouls and long after his bones were dry you continued to pour salt on them to squeeze every ounce of pain out of him.”

In entirely unrelated news, Shooter talked to Newsarama last week about Dark Horse’s new Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom series.

For the second time this season, the High Times Bonghitters benefited from one run-packed inning and an inconsistent Bullet offense to upend the DC Bullets, trumping the comic book makers Monday evening 10-7 in Central Park.  The Bullets’ 9-2 record includes a 4-2 standing in the New York Media Softball League, and even in a loss, the comic book makers enjoyed wily Larry Ganem’s stunning strikeout of an opposing slugger and Nel Yomtov’s outstanding defense.

DC got off to a quick start, as they’ve done most of the 2010 summer.  Centerfielder Neil Hiremath (1-1, 2 R, BB) led off with a single, and third baseman Mike Lorah (2-3, R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR) followed with a drive to center, splitting the left- and right-centerfielders for a home run and a quick 2-0 lead.  Adam Schlagman, shortstop and co-captain, singled as part of a strong 3-3 day that included a run scored, an RBI and a walk, and leftfielder Andrew Arnold (2-4, RBI) doubled to put two more runners in scoring position with nobody out.  LF Jay Kogan (1-2, RBI) beat out an infield single, scoring Adam for a third run, but Andrew was caught in a rundown and tagged for the first out.  Back-to-back fly outs gave High Times a chance to get back into it, and the Bonghitters tallied a single run. (more…)

[Hat tip to Zack Smith.]

During the early 90′s, this pilot for a Power Pack live-action show was developed for NBC’s Saturday morning line-up, though there were obvious differences, like they are sans costumes and how Jack can only shrink himself. This is only the first part, you can find the others, if you want to even bother, on YouTube as well.

It’s weird to think this hasn’t been tried again, especially the success of all-ages hits like Superhero Squad and Batman: Brave and the Bold, or heck, even with the popularity of The Incredibles.

Would you readers like to see Power Pack tried again for TV? At least at a better production value than this?

Doesn’t listen to Hal Jordan, Green Hornet. The Green Hornet franchise seem to be doing okay so far with only the one color. This week, for example, sees the launch of another new Green Hornet comic, Green Hornet: Parallel Lives #1. That one is the official prequel to the upcoming film, which is currently scheduled to open in January. Jai Nitz writes, Nigel Raynor draws, and it will cost you $4. Meanwhile, Hal can be seen palling around with otherly colored Lanterns in this week’s Green Lantern #55, in which Lobo fights Red Lantern Atrocitus (and hopefully Lobo’s dog fights Atrocitus’ cat). It’s by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy.

Action Comics #890: Now that the long-running New Krypton vs. Lois Lane’s dad storyline is wrapped up and Superman is no longer exiled from Earth, that means he’ll be returning to star in his own comics after a too-long absence, right? Well, he’ll be in Superman, anyway. With this issue, Lex Luthor becomes the star of Action Comics, and while that might sound a little too much like more of the same for fans weary of the Superman-free Action, it’s worth noting that Action does have a new writer, the newly exclusive Paul Cornell, and with Pete Woods handling the art, at least readers can rest assured that this is going to be a pretty good Action Comics arc, whether Superman is in it or not. This is a $4, oversized issue.

Batman Beyond #1: Batman #700 seems to have made it official…or official-ish, and the future in which an elderly Bruce Wayne guides young Terry McGinnis on his journey to become the Batman of the future is apparently canon…or canon-esque. This six-issue miniseries by writer Adam Beechen and artist Ryan Benjamin will be the first full-length return to the setting and characters from the 1999-2001 animated series since the Batman Beyond ongoing was canceled with its 24th issue in 2001.

Batwoman: Elegy: This 190-page, $25 hardcover collects Detective Comics #854-#860, the Greg Rucka written, J.H. Williams III-illustrated Barwoman arc. Everyone seemed to love this at the time, and while the story never seemed more than so-so to me, the art certainly elevated the entire endeavor—these were some seriously beautiful superhero comics.

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Following yesterday’s news that Tommy Lee Jones is joining up with 2011 Marvel Studios release as Captain America: The First Avenger as Colonel Phillips, here’s another official casting announcement: Dominic Cooper, an English actor most recently seen on-screen in last year’s Academy Award best picture nominee An Education, has been confirmed to play the film’s younger version of Howard Stark.

Howard Stark is, of course, Tony “Iron Man” Stark’s dad, portrayed by Mad Men‘s John Slattery this summer in Iron Man 2. Reports put Cooper in the role as early as last month, but now this is official word from Marvel Studios. The 32-year-old Cooper has a good deal of theater experience in Britain and won “most promising newcomer” at the 2006 British Independent Film Awards, but is still mostly unknown to US audiences, other than his role as Amanda Seyfried’s fiancé in Mamma Mia! (perhaps not the most popular movie among comic book fans). Captain America: The First Avenger is scheduled for a July 22, 2011 release, the summer’s second Marvel Studios film after Thor (targeted for May 6, 2011).

Full press release after the jump; let us know what you think of the casting in the comments.

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If you like what you’ve read so far (c’mon, how can you not?) totally check out more super cute comics at:www.sosuperduper.com!

***Special Note from the creator***
Hello everyone who hates this comic. I get it, you don’t like it. Great! You are welcome to your opinion and the expression of it. I’ve never said otherwise. And I’ve never once claimed Homophobia as a reason for anyone disliking this strip. If you feel the need to state in your comment as you bash my work that you aren’t homophobic then maybe you might just want to check yourself and make sure that is indeed the case. But as for me, I don’t think people’s awful comments are an expression of homophobia. So let’s move on from there.

So it’s not your cup of tea, I get that. So why not just skip the strip and read all the other amazing peices on Newsarama? There’s plenty of things I don’t like in my life but I don’t take the time to write up horrible messages telling people how much I hate the things that I hate. Like I hate cheese, but I don’t go out and bombard the grocery stores telling them to stop carrying cheese because I hate it. Or tell the cheese makers to stop making cheese because I think it’s gross. I just don’t buy it. I just don’t give it pause. I move on with my life and enjoy those things that I love, like sno-balls and cashews!

So you see, some people actually like cheese (which is beyond me), and therefore, some people might actually enjoy my little comic. Just because the loudest people seem to be those that hate my strip that doesn’t mean there aren’t a group that actually enjoys it. Not everything is going to appeal to everyone. And isn’t that a wonderful thing? So why not be positive and stop the hating? Aren’t there better things you can do with your time? Like creating a strip of your own maybe? Put your money, and anger, where your mouth is! Get creative! And enjoy life. I do!

With much love and respect to all!
Brian Andersen

Cartoonist Noah Van Sciver presents a short autobio comic strip about his experience at a recent con, trying to sell copies of his Blammo, “a mix of short fiction and autobiographical comics in the vein of the best indie comics of the 80′s-90′s” to folks waiting for brother Ethan Van Sciver to draw a superhero sketch for them. I think this quite rightly belongs in the “funny because its true category,” as I know one of my least favorite things about attending SPACE (which is an awesome show and you should totally go) each year was not knowing the most polite way to respond to the face in Van Sciver makes in panel seven. Perhaps we should all go visit Van Sciver’s site now and order an issue of his comic. Because if we don’t, not only will he make that face at us, but apparently his son will starve. Now that’s an aggressive sales pitch. (Link via Flog)

In the coolest comic book-inspired shoe news since last year’s Wolverine and Sabretooth-inspired Nikes, Italian shoemaker Superga has unveiled a new line of DC Comics-themed sneakers, as shown tonight on G4′s Attack of the Show. The first wave features retro takes on Superman, Batman and Green Lantern. And guess what? They look awesome, especially the green and orange coming together for these GL sneaks: (more…)

There was once a time when attending Comic-Con International in San Diego could be a relatively impulsive decision; get time off work, make the trip, buy tickets at the door. Even though that was only a few years ago, it seems like some sort of quaint view of the distant past worthy of a DC Archive Edition.

But here’s some good news: Comic-Con International “memberships” (admission for this year’s San Diego convention) have been completely sold out for months, but a limited amount of additional badges went on sale at noon Pacific time today. No, they’re not jamming more people into the already suffocating San Diego Convention Center, it’s all folks who snatched up a spot early and ended up unable to go.

Better news: Even though that was more than three hours ago, at our last check (just a few minutes before writing this very sentence), there’s still memberships available, as utterly mind-boggling as that may seem. Adult, junior and senior/military four-day memberships inclusive of preview night are still gonezo, but 4-days without preview night are up for grabs, as well as individual Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday memberships.

This surely won’t last for long, though, so if you want to attend this year, act like, now, here. And “now” now, not “tonight when I’m watching The Bachelorette” now.

UPDATE, 3:36 P.M. PACIFIC TIME: Whoop. Re-checking after this blog went up, it looks like all the 4-days, preview night or no, are gone. Individuals are still available for all four days.

UPDATE, 7 P.M. PACIFIC TIME: Saturday is gone, daddy gone. Thursday, Friday and Sunday badges remain.

Over at extraordinarily amazing Bat-artist Dustin Nguyen’s deviantart account, you’ll see this nice piece with a “more update soon” message applied. Possible cover? Licensing merch? A Lil Birdies animated cartoon?

Okay that last one is a bit far-fetched, but I love Nguyen’s style in what ever he does. Especially since this is a relatively small piece (5.5 x 7.5)  but the level of detail in the eyes and hair is amazing and nothing is left out.

As always, solid work.

Back in February, word got out that a Comic-Con documentary was in production, courtesy of Morgan “Super Size Me” Spurlock along with Joss Whedon, Stan Lee and Harry Knowles; a veritable dream team when it comes to things like making documentaries about Comic-Con.

About a month ago, Spurlock was soliciting for folks looking to participate in the doc, hoping to find die-hard Comic-Con attendees to follow as part of the film’s narrative. You’d think they’d be inundated with responses and turning people away by now, but apparently they’re still searching for a few good fans: a post today on Bleeding Cool shows that producers are “looking for people who love Comic-Con,” specifically “original, eccentric, funny, touching, and mildly obsessive people.”

Does your love for Comic-Con demand to be preserved on celluloid? Tell us in the comments.